Coffee in different forms treated
my pre-teen, green taste buds. My budding imagination took me to foreign lands
where coffee trees grow and flourish and people enjoy coffee sophisticated
coffee drinks. I observed adults sip coffee spiked with alcohol and
non-alcohol. It was intriguing to discover a new spin on the beverage that was
forbidden for kids like me to drink.

After one dinner
party at our home, my mother (coffee must have been the gift that gave her
boundless energy) served slices of cheesecake paired with a dark colored coffee
in small white porcelain cups. I asked her, “What is this dark stuff?” She
answered, “Espresso. I drank it in a bistro in Paris.” Since her trip to Europe,
when I was in the third grade, she came back home with coffee attitude.

Served in a 3-ounce
demitasse (espresso cups) the beverage presentation looked cute like something
in an Alice in Wonderland scene. I
wanted to taste the strange, dark brew, but was timid. It looked like the
coffee cup picture on the cover of a French menu that my mom brought home from
her trip abroad to France,
Spain,
and Italy.
Actually, the Italian-sounding “espresso” word (which I incorrectly pronounced
“expresso”) originated in France
since the late 1800s and was appreciated in Italy later.

So, I shut my eyes
(like diving off a block into a cold pool at swim club) and sipped the dark
mud. “This tastes awful,” I exclaimed. I was still a kid (like a coffee plant
that had not fully matured), what did I know? I swapped my coffee for a bowl of
coffee ice cream with chocolate syrup.

At the same time,
during the 20th century, coffee roasters and retailers were also
discovering what titillated the palate of Americans. Coffee company pioneers
understood the demand for the caffeinated brew, from coffee breaks in the
workplace to coffeehouses. They knew that coffee had a place both at work and
play. And these findings have been embraced and are now expanding to
buzz-worthy health news effect of coffee to the mainstream audience.

COFFEE
GIANTS IN THE TWENTIETH CENTURY

Some of the noteworthy
coffee producers of the world made history in the 20th century and
paved the way for the 21st century coffee companies on the West
Coast, America and worldwide. Also, what is so interesting is that many of
these groundbreaking pioneers are family generation run and have ties back to
the 1900s.

By the mid 20th century, coffee
was a staple beverage in the average American home and on the road. The
popularity of cars and highways made traveling more common, and stopping at a
coffee shop or diner for coffee and a bite to eat was a trend that became a
mainstay. As a kid growing up in the
fifties, my parents ordered coffee at coffee shops before our lunch or dinner
made its way to the table. And after the meal coffee was served, too.

WAKING UP TO MAJOR
COFFEE BRANDS

When I began my exploration to discover who’s
who in coffee companies I quickly learned that there was a ready-made list
compiled of well-known top coffee brands much like there is for leading
chocolate companies...

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BIO: CAL OREY--

I'm a born and raised Californian who keeps it real. I hold two degrees in English (Creative Writing) from SFSU, and pen the "hugely successful" Healing Powers Series (on homepage), available at bookstores; (translated in 20 languages), all have been featured by book clubs, including Good Cook and Literary Guild. As a former Woman's World Weekly diet-nutrition columnist, I dish up--health perks, and fresh Mediterranean foods with a West Coast twist.

If you'd like Cal to make an appearance at your bookstore or tearoom, or magazine interview, contact Director of Publicity at Kensington Publishing Corp. kauerbach@kensingtonbooks.com